NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Most New Yorkers and visitors to Times Square know of The Naked Cowboy .

The Naked Cowboy is part of the scenery at New York City 's Times Square .

For the past 10 years , he 's the guy you 've seen on the sidewalk , with the great body , strumming his guitar and singing , dressed in a cowboy hat , cowboy boots and underwear -- and nothing else , even in the dead of winter .

As a native New Yorker , I will admit that at times , it has been my guilty pleasure to walk or drive by The Cowboy to see if he can bear the elements . To my amazement , he 's always there and pretty naked -- in rain , sleet , snow , heat or bitter cold .

I 've even taken pictures . Watch The Naked Cowboy in his natural habitat ''

Well , it seems that Mars Inc. , the makers of M&M s , also knows about Robert Burck -LRB- The Cowboy 's real name -RRB- . Burck sued Mars this week for $ 6 million in federal court in New York . The allegations : trademark infringement under the Lanham Act and violation of his right of publicity under New York Civil Rights Law § 51 , arising from a video billboard for M&M s .

The video ad depicts an M&M frolicking around New York , in what kind of looks like Times Square , in what kind of looks like The Naked Cowboy 's outfit -- briefs and nothing more than a smile .

There have been plenty of jokes about the lawsuit , and I 'm especially fond of the ones found on The Wall Street Journal Law Blog on Thursday , such as :

All jokes aside , I think he may have a case . In order for him to show trademark infringement , The Naked Cowboy has to be trademarked ; has to prove that Mars , without his consent , infringed upon the trademark ; and has to show there 's a `` likelihood of confusion '' between his trademark and the allegedly infringing mark -- in this case the naked M&M .

To state a claim under New York 's civil rights law , Burck has to show that Mars used his name , portrait or picture for purposes of trade or advertising , and without his written consent .

Surprising to some -- at least to me -- The Naked Cowboy 's name and likeness are in fact registered trademarks owned by Burck .

According to the complaint , Burck has licensed The Naked Cowboy name and/or likeness to companies for the purposes of advertising and endorsement . Mars , Inc. , had no immediate comment .

His character is part of the USA Network 's `` Characters Welcome '' campaign ; he appeared in a music video for the song `` Rockstar '' by the multiplatinum artist Nickelback ; and he 's featured singing in the video game `` True Crime : New York City at Times Square . ''

He also has appeared in several movies and television programs , including `` Starship Dave , '' `` Survive This , '' `` Mulva : Zombie A ** Kicker , '' `` Steve Harvey 's Big Time , '' `` New York Minute , '' `` Creature Feature , '' `` Lonely Planet , '' `` Troma 's Edge , '' `` American Icon '' and `` The Howard Stern Show . ''

He even appeared in a Chevrolet commercial that debuted during Super Bowl XLI .

And this is n't the first time a pseudo-celebrity -LRB- sorry Cowboy -RRB- has sued and won . Remember Vanna White ? She was awarded $ 403,000 when Samsung used a robot , wearing a blond wig , jewelry and a dress , that turned letters on a game board similar to White 's role on `` Wheel of Fortune , '' the TV game show .

Still laughing ? I 'm not .

At the end of the day , this lawsuit may be the end of the era of the `` naked '' cowboy . I predict he will be able to afford some very nice duds . E-mail to a friend

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The Naked Cowboy , aka Robert Burck , registered his trademark

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He has filed a federal lawsuit against Mars Inc. , the maker of M&M s

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His suit seeks $ 6 million